


Under Mistletoe and Falling Snow

by KrastBannert



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Vibes, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Happy Azula (Avatar), How Do I Tag, Mistletoe, Not Beta Read, Pre-Relationship, Snow, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Zuko (Avatar) is a Good Brother, i guess?, request fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28304781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrastBannert/pseuds/KrastBannert
Summary: During an emergency visit to the hospital, Kiyi manages to work a little Christmas magic for her brother.Requested by california_poppyseed.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 55





	Under Mistletoe and Falling Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [california_poppyseed](https://archiveofourown.org/users/california_poppyseed/gifts).



> So, I'm not much of a Zutara shipper, personally. I read some Zutara fics, but my preference is Maiko.
> 
> But, my good friend california_poppyseed _loves_ Zutara. She requested this a while ago - originally, it was supposed to be a Beauty and the Beast AU, but then she asked for a 'Zutara meet-cute because of Kiyi' (her exact words...more or less). And that's how this was made.
> 
> So, I wrote this for her, and this fic is honestly kinda dedicated to her. And since I don't know her address to send her something, I'm also making this her Christmas present. She's been an incredible friend for the past 6ish years from 2,100 miles away on the other side of the country, and I'm incredibly happy that I took a shot in the dark and sent her a PM on Fictionpress 2 years ago and got the chance to reconnect after not talking to her for like a year. I never expected her to respond, but respond she did, and, well...here we are now.
> 
> So, california_poppyseed, here's to one day getting my happy ass out to the West Coast, to surfing and becoming drinking buddies, and to many more years of idiocy. And also to getting our act together and actually watching something together like we always talk about and then just...never do.
> 
> Merry Christmas, you horny bitch.

“Koko?”

He turns, looks at his sister; only eight, and she’s in a hospital bed for the second time in her life. Agni, she’s so strong, to be doing this again. At least this time it’s just her appendix, and not a car crash. But when she talks like that, her voice so small and quiet…his heart breaks each time he hears it.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Zuko asks, reaching over to grasp one of her little hands. He hated that she had to be here, only a week before Christmas, her absolute _favorite_ holiday. At the very least, her room was decorated – a little tree in the corner, some festive cutouts and paper snowflakes that Ty Lee had brought her. And Azula had promised to stop by later with her famous ginger snaps.

“I’m scared,” she whispers.” What if I…what if I _don’t_ wake up?”

He moves a little closer, takes her hand in his.” You will, Kiyi. Don’t worry. They’re gonna take really good care of you.”

“But how do you _know_?” she presses, clutching at his hand.

“Because the people here, the doctors and the nurses, they’re…they’re the best,” he says, rubbing her hand with a thumb. He knows from personal experience. Iroh had brought him here after his father burned him, and he’d stayed here for nearly a week as he recovered. Iroh would have been here, but he had a fever and was stuck at home. Zuko knows it must be killing him.

And to be honest, Zuko wishes he _were_ here. Iroh had always been much better at the whole ‘comforting’ thing.

“Okay, Koko,” Kiyi murmurs. She looks up, her big brown eyes pleading with, and she looks so, so small in her hospital gown. He reaches out, pulls her close, rubs her back with one hand. He wishes he could do something more for her.

“Everything okay?” a voice asks quietly, and when Zuko looks up his brain short circuits. There’s a woman standing in the doorway, and even in scrubs, she is _gorgeous_. She’s standing half in the doorway, a concerned frown on her face.

He nods stiffly and manages to find his voice.” She’s just a little frightened.”

Kiyi shuffles in his arms, and he can practically _feel_ her brighten up.” Hi, Nurse Anga!”

The woman – Nurse Anga, apparently – smiles back.” Hey there, cutie! How’re you feeling?”

“My tummy _really_ hurts,” his sister complains.

“Aw,” Nurse Anga sighs. She takes a couple steps closer, crouches down so she’s eye level.” Well…I might have something to fix that. But I’ll need to talk to your dad about it.”

Zuko splutters, choking on air. Kiyi, though, doesn’t miss a beat.

She pushes off him, gagging, and exclaims,” Koko isn’t my dad! He’s my big brother!”

Nurse Anga’s face goes pale as their eyes meet. He blushes – from embarrassment over Kiyi, he tells himself, and _definitely_ not because her eyes are the deepest, most incredible blue he’s ever seen.

“Maybe we should step outside?” He suggests with a nervous smile. She nods, and the two step just outside the room, leaving Kiyi to watch the cartoon that had been playing.

“I’m… _really_ sorry about that, I had no idea.” She shuffles back and forth, looks down at her feet. It’s cute, he thinks. _Really_ cute. He flushes – _damn it_ , he should have better self-control than this – and looks down, focusing on the badge clipped to her lapel. It doesn’t help; her smile, even in just a picture, is absolutely radiant. He opts to focus on her name, instead – _K. Angasan_ , it reads. He’ll have to remember that. Maybe she has…maybe she has some sort of social media he can look up?

_No, Zuko_ , he chides himself. _You’re here for_ Kiyi _, not your failed romantic life_. _Stop it._ He takes a deep breath, counting to four as he refocuses himself. He looks up and gives her a small grin.

“It’s okay, I’m used to it,” he chuckles wryly. He decides to change the subject; one task at a time, his therapist had told him.” So, you…said you had something to help her?”

“Oh, yes! Yeah,” she beams.” We have some medication that can help her calm down if she’s anxious about the anesthesia. That’s what I was actually coming to talk to you about, but the medicine can help with nausea, too.”

“That would be… _really_ helpful,” Zuko breathes.” She…hasn’t had the best experience with doctors, in the past.”

“I’m really sorry to hear that.” To say he’s surprised would be an understatement – she’s genuine. _Completely_ genuine.” I can administer the medication, but I’ll have to go get Doctor Yugoda’s permission to actually do so. And I’ll need your written permission, of course.”

“Right,” he says. He opens his mouth to say something, but he’s interrupted by the sound of his sister cackling like a madwoman. It reminds him so much of Azula, and not for the first time he’s struck by just how similar the two are. That Azula had hated Kiyi when they first met a year ago seemed insane now.

He glances over at Kiyi.” Something funny in there?”

“Look!” She points above him, and his heart skips a beat. _Fuck_.

They’re standing under mistletoe. And ever since Ty Lee and Iroh had planted the mistletoe tradition in Kiyi’s head a week earlier, she hadn’t let it go.

“I’m sorry,” Zuko says automatically.” She’s just-“

“No, no, it’s-it’s okay!” Nurse Angasan blushes.” Just, uh-“

“Come on, Zuko! You gotta!” Kiyi chants, interrupting the other girl.

Zuko sighs, looking down at his feet. He glances up, into those deep blue eyes. He raises his eyebrows, asking the silent question. He sees a silent challenge, a rebellious streak a mile wide hidden inside. Then she darts in, her lips brush against his, and oh sweet Agni, he’s going to _explode_. Her lips are only locked with his for a moment, but it’s a moment that feels like an eternity, a moment where his entire being is _filled_ with fire and his mind stutters as his heart beats even faster.

There’s a brief, angered shout of,” _Angasan!”_ from down the hall, and the spell is broken.

He thinks he catches a blush on her cheeks as she darts away, but he can’t tell. He’s too busy reeling, coming down from the high. He stands there, not hearing Kiyi’s laughter, not hearing the shouts from the hall, not hearing anything. He presses his fingers to his lips – they’re still tingling, like he can still feel her lips pressed against his, and he wonders if he’s imagining the way she’d pressed against him, just ever so slightly, like she wanted more.

Because he does. Oh, he _does_. He wants to feel that same rush to his head, that same electrical crackle that makes his hair stand on end and his toes curl, even with just the briefest touch.

It’s not later, after Azula has found her way through the hallways and Kiyi has been wheeled back in, still fast asleep after a successful surgery, that he dares to hope. It’s just his luck that Azula is the one to give it to him. Their relationship had gotten much better over the years, but she still _loved_ to tease him. This opportunity is no different as she hands him a slip of paper with a raised eyebrow.

“Congratulations, Zuzu,” she drawls.” Someone has _finally_ lowered their standards enough to leave their number for you.”

He gives her a playful shove, and she dances away. For all her teasing, she’s happy for him, he knows, because she gives him a rare, genuine smile as she reclines in her own chair. He knows what she’s thinking without saying. He glances down at the note. _‘Mr. Kenshin’_ , it reads, _’ Text me sometime <3.’_ There’s a phone number scrawled beneath it, and he stares at it for a long moment.

_Is this really happening?_ He asks himself, pulling his phone out. He punches the number in, sends a quick text, and it’s only a minute or two before his phone buzzes in his hand. Zuko ignores Azula’s sly grin, picks up his phone, and sure enough – it’s her.

They talk for what seems like hours, and it’s strange how easily the pieces fall into place. How simple it is to just _talk_ to this girl. The give and take is just…so easy, and it’s strange. He’s half convinced he’s dreaming because his life is _never_ this good, but perhaps…perhaps this is just one of those Christmas miracles. The ones he’s heard about all his life, and never believed in.

It has to be, because she invites him to a Christmas carriage parade in two days’ time, tells him to bring only his _‘cute self and Christmas spirit’_.

It’s snowing when the day arrives, and it makes the air glitter, and he swears he’s living in a dream. He can just see her through the falling snow, bundled up in matching felt hat and scarf and a thick sweater. He looks down at his jeans and his thick wool coat and for some reason, he suddenly feels very underdressed.

Wreathed in glittering snow, her cheeks flushed the prettiest shade of red from the cold, she’s something out of another world, and he can’t help the smile that spreads across his face. “Katara,” he breathes. He finds himself breathless, and he doesn’t understand why this woman keeps getting that reaction out of him, but he can’t help it. And he wouldn’t too; it’s intoxicating.

A smile as brilliant as an aurora splits her face, and he suddenly wonders if this…if what he _thinks_ is happening, is too much to hope for.

“Zuko,” she greets, her voice as breathless as his. He goes to shake her hand, but she dodges him, swoops in to wrap her arms around his middle. His eyes go wide, but he practically melts into her. He’s suddenly incredibly self-conscious about where he puts his hands – her shoulders? Her waist? Hips? Back? Agni, where?

“I think,” she starts, tilting her head to gaze up at him,” that we should probably make something clear. Just so there’s…no mix ups.”

He nods, unable to speak, mesmerized by her beautiful eyes, by the way they shine like sapphires. Her arms are still wrapped around him and he relishes the light warmth that bleeds off of her, that seeps into him and somehow screams of safety. His eyes quirk down to her lips of their own accord. He imagines kissing them again, the feeling of fire in his veins that just that one little taste under the mistletoe had given him.

She grins even wider, and suddenly she’s reaching up, closer, closer, closer…and then her lips press, gently but firmly, against his.

He stands, stock still, for one, two, three beats before his eyes slide closed and a quiet, undignified moan escapes his lips. He feels her smile against him, and as he throws away what little caution and self-control is left to pull her flush against him, one hand splayed across the small of her back and the other gripping her waist, he smiles, too. The beginning may have been embarrassing, and sure, his life has apparently turned into of those cheesy Hallmark movies, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Zuko tries to make a mental note to thank his little sister – without her, without her sudden obsession with the mistletoe tradition, he wouldn’t be here, now. He wouldn’t be here, with a beautiful woman clinging to him, smiling and giggling as he peppers another kiss against her face in the falling snow.

He thinks that maybe, just maybe, his baby sister worked a Christmas miracle with something as simple as mistletoe.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed that story. Any kudos are appreciated, comments even more so.
> 
> No funny business in this AN - it's Christmas. I'll save the jokes for New Year's. Just go out and be happy. That's all. Spend the day with family and friends and enjoy the fact that we're all here.
> 
> Stay safe out there, my dudes. 
> 
> Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and Happy Holidays to all of you wonderful, incredible people out there.


End file.
